It’s been a while since we did a list on the blog, so we thought we’d go back to our roots and visit the sweet spot of gaming….
Most of our tables are rectangles or square, normally, so the perfect player count for most games is clearly either two or four…
The other great thing about a 4-player game is you only have to wait for three other players to take their turns before you get to go again. Any longer and some people will get distracted and get on their phones and that’s no fun…
So from all the awesome games out there that are perfect for four, let’s pick four that you should try! This blog is going to focus on some modern classics…
1: SPLENDOR
Does it bug you as much as it bugs us that they went for the American English spelling? WE NEED A U IN THERE!
Right, I’ve had a my little rant.. What is Splendor? Well the meaning of it is ‘the quality of being magnificent or splendid or grand’ and in the game you are taking on the role of a rich merchant during the Renaissance and using your resources to acquire mines, transport and artisans who will turn your raw gems into splendid jewels. By doing so you will gain prestige and, perhaps be noticed by a noble who will gain you even more prestige. That’s pretty grand, isn’t it?
So, what does this equate to in game terms? Well, this is one of those great games where turns are super simple as you take only one of three actions on your go… taking gems to build up your stash, buying a development with those gems or reserving one of the developments for latter purchase and getting a bonus gold token. The development cards are where you earn your prestige and the best ones are super expensive… luckily, with every development you buy, it reduces the cost of future cards… also get the right number of coloured development cards and that’s when a noble visits you and gives you more points.
This is one of the simplest engine builders on the market and a great gateway into the hobby and if I didn’t mention this one I know at least one team member here in Birmingham who would be very upset with me…
Who is this best for: Those who want minimal interactions with other players and just want to hone their skills at efficiency
2: CASCADIA
Cascadia is the geographical location in Western North America bound by the Pacific Ocean to the east and (roughly) the Rocky Mountains to the East… and the game? Well, it focuses on building a balanced landscape based around the biomes of the area and arranging well known species of the area depending on a variable set of goals.
It’s also stunning and very pleasing!
The tiles are chunky, the tokens are a great heft, the drawstring bag adds a touch of class… all in all it’s clear this is a labour of love.
The puzzle here involved a bit more keeping an eye on your opponents as those who create the largest ‘corridor’ of matching landscapes get a hefty score bonus, if you happen to be competing with someone on the same biome then you are likely to get in trouble as they will be taking the same tiles as you, thus leaving less of them available for you… so keep an eye on your opponents!
There is a healthy amount of variation in the game, from a family variant to an intermediate variant through to the full game. In the full game there is even a starting set up of scoring cards and for those who love the game there is an achievement mode… This is genius as Cascadia is quite a short game once you get the hang of it, the idea being you play a series of games and try to unlock 50 goals across a number of games… there are rules restriction, scenarios and goals. A game within a game… perfect!
Who is this best for: Those looking for a bit more interaction but not so much that someone will ruin your game! Efficiency is still King here.
3: AZUL
Now we’re getting interactive, Azul is another great 4 player game and just had to go on this list, at first glance there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of interactivity but Azul lulls you into a false sense of security and as you play you realise just how nasty you can be in the end game.
There is a little bit of narrative in this game but it honestly doesn’t need it… you’re basically placing tiles on a grid to score points… but the restrictions and how you collect tiles is what makes this something special (special enough to have 3 other games based on the mechanisms used)
Let’s just talk about how the basic mechanism works. In the first game you have a number of tiles on discs and you must take all the matching tiles from one disc and place the rest in the pool in the middle. You pop these in a row to score later if you fill the row with the same colour tiles and move on. You’re allowed to take tiles now from the central pool but MUST take all of the matching tiles. As you play, rows fill the grid and now you can’t place that pattern tile in that row anymore… oh no! Some other blighter has taken the tiles you want and left you with the ones you can’t use. Sadly you need to take some tiles and any you can’t place are going to affect your score.. Gutted!
Clearly the shared pool in this game is where the interactions lie, once you add a bit of table talk on how to mess each other up the meta game grows to a beautiful thing as will your tiling as the azulejos you place will slowly grow!
Who is this best for: Here efficiency is still important but you can REALLY mess up someone’s game, especially if you are THAT player…
4: FIRE TOWER
BURN!! BURN! BURN! In this game of last person standing you’re going to be controlling a forest fire and looking to be the sole survivor of the blaze… or if you get knocked out early you are looking to take revenge and be the one who take everyone else out at the same time, it’s a long shot but oh so good when you pull it off!
Fire Tower does have a bit of convoluted rule book so we suggest you get a teach or watch a short video as it is so simple once you have played a few rounds. You’ll love the little fire gems that make the board sparkle and the best way to play is definitely 4-player as the game works on a compass system and it just seem right to be sitting in a square playing.
It’s basically a case of spreading the fire in the direction of the wind on your go and then normally playing a card that will either, put out the fire a bit, spread it more, set up a block for it or change the direction of the wind. If you burn the top of a tower then they become the ‘Spirit of the Wood’ and will take their revenge!
Who is this best for: Those who want to watch their friends burn and also want to light the fire.
You know, there are so many great 4-player games, we’ve only just scratched the surface, we’ll have to do this again sometime soon. So grab three buddies, get in to Chance and Counters and try out these boxes of awesome.